Download or read book A Palace for a King written by Jonathan Brown and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Buen Retiro, a royal retreat and pleasure palace, was built for Philip IV on the outskirts of Madrid in the 1630s. With its superb display of paintings by Vel zquez and other contemporary artists, the palace became a showcase for the art and culture of Spain's Golden Age. A Palace for a King, first published in 1980, provides a pioneering total history of the construction, decoration, and uses of a major royal palace, emphasising the relationship of art and politics at a critical moment in European history. produced on different aspects of the history of the palace and its decoration since the 1970s. A number of new, unpublished illustrations have been added, and many of the plates are now reproduced in colour. The publication of this edition gains added importance from the fact that plans for the expansion of the Prado Museum include the restoration of the Hall of Realms to approximate its original appearance, as reconstructed in this volume.

Download or read book The Revolt of the Catalans written by J. H. Elliott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1984-06-07 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revolution of Catalonia in 1640 was a signal event in seventeenth-century Europe. Its causes and antecedents - essential for an understanding of the revolution itelf - form the basis of Professor Elliott's study of the Spanish monarchy at this time. They throw remarkable light on the whole question of the decline of Spain in the seventeenth century from its position of pre-eminence in Europe. From the fierce suppression of Catalan bandits by their Castilian overlords during the second decade of the century, Professor Elliott traces the gradual deterioration of relations between the principality of Catalonia and the government in Madrid. He shows how Olivares, the favourite and chief minister of Philip IV, attempted to use Catalan resources to fight Spain's foreign wars, and how the growing tension led ultimately to a revolution, which he suggests played a crucial part in Spain's decline. Professor Elliott's story is almost entirely based on previously unknown documents found in the Spanish national and local archives. These sources enabled him to write the first full-scale treatment of Olivares and his policies. While exciting as a story in its own right, it also stands as a case-history of the perennial struggle between regional liberties and the claims of central governments.

Download or read book The Count Duke of Olivares written by John Huxtable Elliott and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1986-01-01 with total page 774 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the life of King Philip IV's principal minister, describes the Count-Duke's efforts to stop Spain's decline, and looks at seventeenth century European politics

Download or read book Richelieu and Olivares written by J. H. Elliott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1991-07-26 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cardinal Richelieu is one of the best known and most studied statesmen in European history; his Spanish contemporary and rival, the Count-Duke of Olivares, one of the least known. The contrasting historical fortunes of the two men reflect the outcome of the great struggle in seventeenth-century Europe between France and Spain: the triumph of France assured the fame of Richelieu, while Spain's failure condemned Olivares to historical neglect. This fascinating book by the distinguished historian J. H. Elliott argues that contemporaries, for whom Olivares was at least as important as Richelieu, shared none of posterity's certainty about the inevitability of that outcome. His absorbing comparative portrait of the two men, as personalities and as statesmen, through their policies and their mutual struggle, offers unique insights into seventeenth-century Europe and the nature of power and statesmanship.

Download or read book Art and Death at the Spanish Habsburg Court written by Steven N. Orso and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When King Philp IV of Spain died on September 17, 1665, he had ruled the Spanish empire for more than 44 years. In keeping with Habsburg tradition, following the entombment the Court undertook royal exequies, or funerary honours, intended to commemorate the deceased and to reassure his subjects that the monarchy would continue in an orderly fashion. These observances took place in a church adorned with a majestic ensemble of temporary decorations that had been designed especially for the occasion.

Download or read book Europe and the Decline of Spain written by R. A. Stradling and published by Unwin Hyman. This book was released on 1981-01-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: